Organic light emitting diode panels and display devices including the same

ABSTRACT

An OLED panel for implementing biometric recognition influencing an aperture ratio of an OLED light emitter i includes a substrate, an OLED on the substrate, and a driver on the substrate. The OLED may emit visible light, and the driver may drive the OLED. The driver may include a visible light sensor configured to detect the visible light emitted by the OLED, and the visible light sensor may overlap the OLED in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to an upper surface of the substrate. The OLED panel may include a near infrared ray OLED that is configured to emit near infrared rays, and the driver may include a near infrared ray sensor configured to detect near infrared rays emitted by the near infrared ray OLED. The near infrared ray sensor may overlap the OLED in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to an upper surface of the substrate.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/225,747, filed Dec. 19, 2018, which claims priority to and thebenefit of, under 35 U.S.C. § 119, Korean Patent Application No.10-2018-0108794 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Sep.12, 2018, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated hereinby reference.

BACKGROUND (a) Field

The present inventive concepts relate to OLED panel and a display deviceincluding the same. More particularly, the present inventive conceptsrelate to OLED panels including one or more photosensors configured toimplement biometric recognition, and one or more display devicesincluding the same.

(b) Description of the Related Art

Organic light emitting diode (OLED) display devices may have excellentluminance, driving voltage, and response speed characteristics and mayrealize color images as merits, so they are applicable to variousdisplay devices.

Recently, demands are increasing for display devices to be configured toimplement biometric recognition of human being via one or more biometrictechniques for certifying a user by extracting specific biometric dataor behavioral feature information of human beings. Such biometricrecognition may be implemented by use of automated devices and/or may beimplemented with a focus on finance, health care, mobile systems.Particularly, leading smartphone companies are focusing on adaptingfingerprint and iris recognition technologies.

After Apple has taken over AuthenTech, a manufacturer of semiconductorfingerprint recognizing sensors, it continues mounting the fingerprintrecognizing sensors on electronic devices, including iPhone® and iPad®electronic devices. US2015-0331508 also discloses a technique forforming a sensor for fingerprint recognition.

However, regarding US2015-0331508, the aperture ratio of the OLED lightemitter reduces compared to the existing OLED light emitter without afingerprint recognizing sensor. The reduction of the aperture ratio ofthe OLED light emitter may substantially influence the displayingcharacteristic in the mobile display device particularly such assmartphones with small display areas.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only forenhancement of understanding of the background of the invention andtherefore it may contain information that does not form the prior artthat is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill inthe art.

SUMMARY

Some example embodiments of the present inventive concepts provide oneor more OLED panels configured to implement biometric recognitionwithout influencing an aperture ratio of an OLED light emitter.

Some example embodiments of the present inventive concepts provide oneor more display device including an OLED panel that is configured toimplement biometric recognition and further to not influence an apertureratio of an OLED light emitter of the OLED panel.

According to some example embodiments, an organic light emitting diode(OLED) panel may include a substrate, an OLED on the substrate, the OLEDconfigured to emit visible light, and a driver between the substrate andthe OLED, the driver configured to drive the OLED. The driver mayinclude a visible light sensor configured to detect the visible lightemitted by the OLED. The visible light sensor may overlap the OLED in adirection that is substantially perpendicular to an upper surface of thesubstrate.

The driver may further include an OLED driving transistor and an OLEDswitching transistor. The OLED driving transistor may be configured todrive the OLED. The visible light sensor, the OLED driving transistor,and the OLED switching transistor may be on a same plane.

The OLED panel may further include a black shield configured to blockthe visible light emitted by the OLED. The black shield may be betweenthe OLED switching transistor and the OLED, between the OLED drivingtransistor and the OLED, or a combination thereof.

The visible light emitted by the OLED may include red light, greenlight, and blue light. The visible light sensor may be configured toselectively detect the blue light.

The OLED may include a first electrode and a second electrode. The firstelectrode may include a reflecting electrode. The second electrode mayinclude a transparent electrode or a semi-transparent electrode.

According to some example embodiments, an organic light emitting diode(OLED) panel may include a substrate, an OLED on the substrate, the OLEDconfigured to emit visible light, a near infrared ray OLED on thesubstrate, the near infrared ray OLED configured to emit near infraredrays, and a driver between the substrate and the OLED. The driver mayfurther be between the substrate and the near infrared ray OLED. Thedriver may be configured to drive both the OLED and the near infraredray OLED. The driver may include a near infrared ray sensor configuredto detect near infrared rays emitted by the near infrared ray OLED. Thenear infrared ray sensor may overlap the OLED in a direction that issubstantially perpendicular to an upper surface of the substrate.

The driver may include an OLED driving transistor configured to drivethe OLED. The driver may include a near infrared ray driving transistorconfigured to drive the near infrared ray OLED. The near infrared raysensor, the OLED driving transistor, and the near infrared ray drivingtransistor may be on a same plane.

The OLED panel may further include a black shield configured to blocknear infrared rays emitted by the near infrared ray OLED. The blackshield may be between the OLED driving transistor and the OLED, betweenthe near infrared ray driving transistor and the near infrared ray OLED,or a combination thereof.

The OLED may include a first electrode and a second electrode. The firstelectrode may include a reflecting electrode. The second electrode mayinclude a transparent electrode or a semi-transparent electrode.

The near infrared ray sensor, the OLED driving transistor, the nearinfrared ray driving transistor, and the near infrared ray OLED may beon a same plane.

According to some example embodiments, an organic light emitting diode(OLED) panel may include a pixel including a plurality of sub-pixels.Each sub-pixel of the plurality of sub-pixels may include a substrate,an OLED on the substrate, the OLED configured to emit visible light, anda driver between the substrate and the OLED, the driver configured todrive the OLED. A driver of at least one sub-pixel of the plurality ofsub-pixels may include a visible light sensor configured to detect thevisible light emitted by at least one OLED of the plurality ofsub-pixels. The visible light sensor may overlap the OLED of the atleast one sub-pixel in a direction that is substantially perpendicularto an upper surface of the substrate.

The driver of the at least one sub-pixel may further include an OLEDdriving transistor and an OLED switching transistor. The OLED drivingtransistor may be configured to drive the OLED. The visible lightsensor, the OLED driving transistor, and the OLED switching transistormay be on a same plane.

The OLED panel may include a black shield configured to block lightemitted by the OLED of the at least one sub-pixel. The black shield maybe between the OLED switching transistor and the OLED of the at leastone sub-pixel, between the OLED driving transistor and the OLED of theat least one sub-pixel, or a combination thereof.

The plurality of sub-pixels may each be configured to emit red light,green light, or blue light, such that the plurality of sub-pixelscollectively emit the red light, the green light, and the blue light.The visible light sensor of the at least one sub-pixel may be configuredto selectively detect the blue light.

The OLED of each sub-pixel may include a first electrode and a secondelectrode. The first electrode may include a reflecting electrode. Thesecond electrode may include a transparent electrode or asemi-transparent electrode.

According to some example embodiments, an organic light emitting diode(OLED) panel may include a pixel including a plurality of sub-pixels.Each sub-pixel of the plurality of sub-pixels may include a substrate,an OLED on the substrate, the OLED configured to emit visible light, anda driver between the substrate and the OLED, the driver configured todrive the OLED. At least one sub-pixel of the plurality of sub-pixelsmay further include a near infrared ray OLED. The near infrared ray OLEDmay be configured to emit near infrared rays. A driver of at least onesub-pixel of the plurality of sub-pixels may include a near infrared raysensor configured to detect the near infrared rays emitted by the nearinfrared ray OLED. The near infrared ray sensor may overlap the OLED ofthe at least one sub-pixel that includes the near infrared ray sensor ina direction that is substantially perpendicular to an upper surface ofthe substrate.

The near infrared ray OLED and the near infrared ray sensor may beincluded in a common at least one sub-pixel. The driver of the common atleast one sub-pixel may include an OLED driving transistor configured todrive the OLED of the common at least one sub-pixel. The driver mayinclude a near infrared ray driving transistor configured to drive thenear infrared ray OLED of the common at least one sub-pixel. The nearinfrared ray sensor, the OLED driving transistor, and the near infraredray driving transistor of the common at least one sub-pixel may be on asame plane.

The OLED panel may further include a black shield configured to blocknear infrared rays emitted by the near infrared ray OLED. The blackshield may be between the OLED driving transistor and the OLED, betweenthe near infrared ray driving transistor and the near infrared ray OLED,or a combination thereof.

The OLED may include a first electrode and a second electrode. The firstelectrode may include a reflecting electrode. The second electrode mayinclude a transparent electrode or a semi-transparent electrode.

According to some example embodiments, an organic light emitting diode(OLED) panel may include a substrate, an OLED on the substrate, the OLEDconfigured to emit visible light, and a driver on the OLED, the driverconfigured to drive the OLED. The driver may include a visible lightsensor configured to detect light emitted by the OLED. The visible lightsensor may overlap the OLED in a direction that is substantiallyperpendicular to an upper surface of the substrate.

The visible light sensor may be between the substrate and the OLED.

The OLED may be between the substrate and the visible light sensor.

The driver may further include an OLED driving transistor and an OLEDswitching transistor. The OLED driving transistor may be configured todrive the OLED. The visible light sensor, the OLED driving transistor,and the OLED switching transistor may be on a same plane.

The OLED panel may further include a black shield configured to blocklight emitted by the OLED. The black shield may be between the OLEDswitching transistor and the OLED, between the OLED driving transistorand the OLED, or a combination thereof.

The visible light emitted by the OLED may include red light, greenlight, and blue light. The visible light sensor may be configured toselectively detect the blue light.

The OLED may include a first electrode and a second electrode. The firstelectrode may include a reflecting electrode. The second electrode mayinclude a transparent electrode or a semi-transparent electrode.

According to some example embodiments, an organic light emitting diode(OLED) panel may include a substrate, an OLED on the substrate, the OLEDconfigured to emit visible light, a near infrared ray OLED on thesubstrate, the near infrared ray OLED configured to emit near infraredrays, and a driver on the OLED, the driver further between the substrateand the near infrared ray OLED, the driver configured to drive both theOLED and the near infrared ray OLED. The driver may include a nearinfrared ray sensor configured to detect near infrared rays emitted bythe near infrared ray OLED. The near infrared ray sensor may overlap theOLED in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to an uppersurface of the substrate.

The near infrared ray OLED may be between the substrate and the OLED.

The OLED may be between the substrate and the near infrared ray OLED.

The driver may include an OLED driving transistor configured to drivethe OLED. The driver may include a near infrared ray driving transistorconfigured to drive the near infrared ray OLED. The near infrared raysensor, the OLED driving transistor, and the near infrared ray drivingtransistor may be on a same plane.

The OLED panel may further include a black shield configured to blocknear infrared rays emitted by the near infrared ray OLED. The blackshield may be between the OLED driving transistor and the OLED, betweenthe near infrared ray driving transistor and the near infrared ray OLED,or a combination thereof.

The OLED may include a first electrode and a second electrode. The firstelectrode may include a reflecting electrode. The second electrode mayinclude a transparent electrode or a semi-transparent electrode.

The near infrared ray sensor, the OLED driving transistor, the nearinfrared ray driving transistor, and the near infrared ray OLED may beon a same plane.

According to some example embodiments, an electronic device may includea memory, a processor, and a display device including an Organic LightEmitting Diode (OLED) panel. The OLED panel may include a substrate, anOLED on the substrate, the OLED configured to emit visible light, and adriver on the OLED, the driver configured to drive the OLED. The drivermay include a visible light sensor configured to detect light emitted bythe OLED. The visible light sensor may overlap the OLED in a directionthat is substantially perpendicular to an upper surface of thesubstrate.

The processor may be configured to execute a program of instructionsstored in the memory to implement biometric recognition of an individualbased on processing electrical signals received from the visible lightsensor to detect a fingerprint, an iris, or face image.

The driver may further include an OLED driving transistor and an OLEDswitching transistor. The OLED driving transistor may be configured todrive the OLED. The visible light sensor, the OLED driving transistor,and the OLED switching transistor may be on a same plane.

The OLED panel may further include a black shield configured to blocklight emitted by the OLED. The black shield may be between the OLEDswitching transistor and the OLED, between the OLED driving transistorand the OLED, or a combination thereof.

The visible light emitted by the OLED may include red light, greenlight, and blue light. The visible light sensor may be configured toselectively detect the blue light.

The OLED may include a first electrode and a second electrode. The firstelectrode may include a reflecting electrode. The second electrode mayinclude a transparent electrode or a semi-transparent electrode.

According to some example embodiments, an electronic device may includea memory, a processor, and a display device including an Organic LightEmitting Diode (OLED) panel. The OLED panel may include a substrate, anOLED on the substrate, the OLED configured to emit visible light, a nearinfrared ray OLED on the substrate, the near infrared ray OLEDconfigured to emit near infrared rays, and a driver between thesubstrate and the OLED. The driver may be further between the substrateand the near infrared ray OLED. The driver may be configured to driveboth the OLED and the near infrared ray OLED. The driver may include anear infrared ray sensor configured to detect near infrared rays emittedby the near infrared ray OLED. The near infrared ray sensor may overlapthe OLED in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to an uppersurface of the substrate.

The processor may be configured to execute a program of instructionsstored in the memory to implement biometric recognition of an individualbased on processing electrical signals received from the near infraredray sensor to detect a fingerprint, an iris, or face image.

The driver may include an OLED driving transistor configured to drivethe OLED. The driver may include a near infrared ray driving transistorconfigured to drive the near infrared ray OLED. The near infrared raysensor, the OLED driving transistor, and the near infrared ray drivingtransistor may be on a same plane.

The electronic device may further include a black shield configured toblock near infrared rays emitted by the near infrared ray OLED. Theblack shield may be between the OLED driving transistor and the OLED,between the near infrared ray driving transistor and the near infraredray OLED, or a combination thereof.

The OLED may include a first electrode and a second electrode. The firstelectrode may include a reflecting electrode. The second electrode mayinclude a transparent electrode or a semi-transparent electrode.

The near infrared ray sensor, the OLED driving transistor, the nearinfrared ray driving transistor, and the near infrared ray OLED may beon a same plane.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, and FIG. 10 show schematic diagrams of various pixellayouts of an OLED panel according to some example embodiments of thepresent inventive concepts.

FIG. 2A shows a cross-sectional view of an OLED panel according to someexample embodiments of the present inventive concepts.

FIG. 2B shows a cross-sectional view for describing a fingerprintrecognizing process using an OLED panel according to some exampleembodiments of the present inventive concepts.

FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, FIG. 3C, FIG. 3D, and FIG. 3E show schematic diagramsof various pixel layouts of an OLED panel according to some exampleembodiments of the present inventive concepts.

FIG. 4A shows a cross-sectional view of an OLED panel according to someexample embodiments of the present inventive concepts.

FIG. 4B shows a cross-sectional view of a fingerprint recognizingprocess using an OLED panel according to some example embodiments of thepresent inventive concepts.

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of an OLED panel according to someexample embodiments of the present inventive concepts.

FIG. 6A shows a cross-sectional view of a visible light sensor accordingto some example embodiments of the present inventive concepts.

FIG. 6B shows a curved line showing a characteristic of a visible lightsensor according to some example embodiments of the present inventiveconcepts.

FIG. 6C shows a curved line showing a characteristic of an OLED drivingtransistor according to some example embodiments of the presentinventive concepts.

FIG. 6D shows a curved line showing a characteristic of an OLED drivingtransistor according to some example embodiments of the presentinventive concepts.

FIG. 7A shows a cross-sectional view of an OLED driving transistoraccording to some example embodiments of the present inventive concepts.

FIG. 7B shows a curved line showing a characteristic of an OLED drivingtransistor according to some example embodiments of the presentinventive concepts.

FIG. 8 shows a driving circuit of a driver according to some exampleembodiments of the present inventive concepts.

FIG. 9 shows a driving circuit according to some example embodiments ofthe present inventive concepts.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to someexample embodiments of the present inventive concepts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present inventive concepts will be described more fully hereinafterwith reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exampleembodiments of the inventive concepts are shown. As those skilled in theart would realize, the described example embodiments may be modified invarious different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scopeof the present inventive concepts.

In the drawings, the thickness of layers, films, panels, regions, etc.,are exaggerated for clarity. Like reference numerals designate likeelements throughout the specification. It will be understood that whenan element such as a layer, film, region, or substrate is referred to asbeing “on” another element, it can be directly on the other element orintervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an elementis referred to as being “directly on” another element, there are nointervening elements present. In addition, it will be understood thatwhen an element is referred to as being “on” another element, theelement may be above or beneath the other element.

An OLED panel according to some example embodiments of the presentinventive concepts will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1A-1Cand FIGS. 2A-2B.

FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, and FIG. 10 show schematic diagrams of various pixellayouts of an OLED panel according to some example embodiments of thepresent inventive concepts.

Referring to FIGS. 1A 1C, a pixel Px1 configuring an OLED panelaccording to some example embodiments of the present inventive conceptsincludes three sub-pixels (SPx) and visible light sensors 230, and thethree sub-pixels (SPx) may be one of a red OLED sub-pixel (OLED R), agreen OLED sub-pixel (OLED G), and a blue OLED sub-pixel (OLED B). Thevisible light sensor 230 is provided on a bottom of a light emitter ofone of three sub-pixels (SPx), and it may be disposed to overlap one ofthe three sub-pixels (SPx).

In detail, the visible light sensor 230 may overlap the red OLEDsub-pixel (OLED R) as shown in FIG. 1A, the visible light sensor 230 mayoverlap the green OLED sub-pixel (OLED G) as shown in FIG. 1B, or thevisible light sensor 230 may overlap the blue OLED sub-pixel (OLED B) asshown in FIG. 10.

Therefore, the sub-pixel (SPx) overlaps the visible light sensor 230, sobiometrics may be allowable by using the visible light sensor 230without influencing the aperture ratio of the OLED light emitter.

For better understanding and ease of description, the visible lightsensor 230 is disclosed to be provided on the bottom of the lightemitter of one of the three sub-pixels (SPx), but some exampleembodiments of the present inventive concepts is not limited thereto,the visible light sensor 230 may be provided at the bottom of the lightemitter of at least one sub-pixel (SPx), and a plurality of visiblelight sensors 230 may be provided at the bottom of at least onesub-pixel (SPx).

FIG. 2A shows a cross-sectional view of an OLED panel according to someexample embodiments of the present inventive concepts.

Referring to FIG. 2A, the OLED panel 1000 is a stacking-type panel inwhich the substrate 100, the driver 200, and the OLED light emitter 300are stacked, and the driver 200 including a visible light sensor 230 isstacked between the substrate 100 and the OLED light emitter 300. Thatis, the visible light sensor 230 is provided at the bottom of the OLEDlight emitter 300, so biometrics is allowable by using a visible lightsensor 230 without influencing the aperture ratio of the OLED lightemitter 300. As shown in at least FIG. 2A, the visible light sensor 230may overlap the OLED 310 in a direction that is perpendicular orsubstantially perpendicular (e.g., perpendicular within manufacturingtolerances and/or material tolerances) to an upper surface 100 a of thesubstrate 100.

As referred to herein, an element that is “on” another element may be“above” or “under” the other element. Conversely, an element that isdescribed as being “above” or “under” another element will be understoodto be “on” the other element. Additionally, an element that is “on”another element may be “directly on” (e.g., in contact with) the otherelement or may be “indirectly on” (e.g. isolated from direct contactwith via an interposing element(s) and/or a gap space) the otherelement.

As shown in at least FIG. 2A, the OLED panel 1000 may include asubstrate 100, an OLED 310 on the substrate 100, and a driver 200 on theOLED 310, where the driver 200 may be configured to drive the OLED 310.As shown in FIG. 2A, the driver 200 may be between the substrate 100 andthe OLED 310, but example embodiments are not limited thereto. WhileFIG. 2A illustrates the driver 200 as being distal from a front surface1000 a of the OLED panel 1000 in relation to the OLED light emitter 300,such that the visible light sensor 230 is between the OLED 310 and thesubstrate 100, it will be understood that, in some example embodiments,the driver 200 may be proximate to front surface 1000 a in relation tothe OLED light emitter 300, such that the OLED light emitter 300, andthus the OLED 310, is between the driver 200 and the substrate 100, andthus the OLED 310 is between the visible light sensor 230 and thesubstrate 100.

Regarding the OLED panel 1000, the sub-pixels (SPx, refer to FIG. 1) foremitting visible lights (R, G, and B) with different wavelengths aregathered together to configure one pixel (Px1, refer to FIG. 1), and thepixel Px1 is repeated and arranged as a matrix to form the OLED panel1000.

The OLED light emitter 300 is stacked on the driver 200 to display animage. As shown in FIG. 2A, the OLED light emitter 300 includes an OLED310 including an organic emission layer 312 and a first electrode 311and a second electrode 313 formed on the bottom and the top of theorganic emission layer 312, respectively, such that the organic emissionlayer 312 is between the first and second electrodes 311, 313. The OLED310 may emit visible light having various wavelength spectra.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the OLED 310 may be at least partially on each of alower insulation layer 360 and an upper insulation layer 340 of the OLEDlight emitter 300, and may further be at least partially between thelower insulation layer 360 and the upper insulation layer 340.

The organic emission layer 312 may be formed with various organicmaterials emitting visible light 320 for emitting one of the red R,green G, and blue B colors in a front direction (a direction of an arrow320 shown in FIG. 2A) of the substrate 100, that is, in an oppositedirection to the driver 200. Accordingly, the OLED may emit visiblelight that includes red light (“red R”), green light (“green G”), andblue light (“blue B”).

The first electrode 311 may be formed to be (e.g., may include) areflecting electrode so that the light emitted by the organic emissionlayer 312 may be reflected by the second electrode 313 to be displayedto the outside via the front surface 1000 a of the OLED panel 1000.

The second electrode 313 may be formed to be (e.g., may include) asemi-transparent electrode or a transparent electrode, for example,MgAg, ITO, or IZO, or Ag or AlTO that is a thin film that is equal to orless than 10 nm thick so that the light emitted by the organic emissionlayer 312 may be directed through the first electrode 313 to bedisplayed to the outside via the front surface 1000 a of the OLED panel1000.

One of the first electrode 311 and the second electrode 313 is connectedto a driving voltage line (Vdd, refer to FIG. 8) and an output terminal(Out Put) to function as an anode, and the other functions as a cathode.One of the first electrode 311 and the second electrode 313 receives adriving voltage from the OLED driving transistor 210 of the driver 200and emits visible light.

A cover glass (not shown) attached by an adhesive (not shown) isprovided on the top of the OLED light emitter 300 to protect a lowerstructure and form a display surface and a biometric surface.

The driver 200 is formed on the substrate 100, and it includes an OLEDdriving transistor 210, an OLED switching transistor 220, a visiblelight sensor 230, black shields 215 and 225, and an interlayerinsulating layer 240. The OLED driving transistor 210 may drive the OLED310. The OLED driving transistor 210, the OLED switching transistor 220,and the visible light sensor 230 may be formed on a same plane, as shownin FIG. 2A for example. When they are formed on the same plane, aprocess for forming an OLED driving transistor 210, an OLED switchingtransistor 220, and a visible light sensor 230 may be simultaneouslyperformed, so there is no need to manufacture an additional processingmask and the number of processing stages may be reduced, compared to thecase of forming the same on a different plane. Further, the panel may bemanufactured to be thinner than the case of forming the same on thedifferent plane, which me be further preferable in realization of theflexible panel.

The OLED driving transistor 210 includes a gate electrode 211, a gateinsulating layer 212, an electrode layer 213, and an electrodeinsulating layer 214. The electrode layer 213 may form a first end or asecond end of the OLED driving transistor 210 and the first end or thesecond end may be connected to the second electrode 311 through acontact hole 217.

For better understanding and ease of description, the semiconductorlayer (216, refer to FIG. 7A) of the OLED driving transistor 210 isomitted, and a detailed structure of the OLED driving transistor 210including a semiconductor layer 216 will be described in a later portionof the present specification.

A black shield 215 is formed at the top of the OLED driving transistor210 to shield the visible light 330 emitted by the OLED light emitter300 and reflected or scattered. Restated, the black shield 215 may blockthe visible light emitted by the OLED 310 from reaching the OLED drivingtransistor 210. As shown in FIG. 2A, the black shield 215 may be betweenthe OLED driving transistor 210 and the OLED 310.

The OLED switching transistor 220 includes a gate electrode 221, a gateinsulating layer 222, an electrode layer 223, and an electrodeinsulating layer 224.

A black shield 225 is formed at the top of the OLED switching transistor220 to shield the visible light 330 emitted by the OLED light emitter300 and reflected or scattered. Restated, the black shield 225 may blockthe visible light emitted by the OLED 310 from reaching the OLEDswitching transistor 220. As shown in FIG. 2A, the black shield 225 maybe between the OLED switching transistor 220 and the OLED 310. In someexample embodiments, the black shield 215 and the black shield 225 maybe a single black shield that forms at least a part of a unitary pieceof material that extends between the OLED 310 and the transistors 210,220, such that the single black shield is between the OLED switchingtransistor 220 and the OLED 310 and is further between the OLED drivingtransistor 210 and the OLED 310. Accordingly, a black shield in the OLEDpanel 1000 may be between the OLED switching transistor 220 and the OLED310, between the OLED driving transistor 210 and the OLED 310, or acombination thereof.

The visible light sensor 230 includes a gate electrode 231, a gateinsulating layer 232, an electrode layer 233, and an electrodeinsulating layer 234, and it may selectively absorb and/or selectivelydetect the visible light 330 (e.g., one of the red light, green light,and blue light) emitted by the organic emission layer 312 and reflectedor scattered. Restated, the visible light sensor 230 may detect visiblelight emitted by the OLED 310. For example, the visible light sensor 230may selectively detect the blue light, of the visible light 320 emittedby the OLED 310, such that the visible light sensor 230 does not detectthe red light or the green light of the visible light 320. Thesemiconductor layer (235, refer to FIG. 6A) of the visible light sensor230 is omitted, and a detailed configuration of the visible light sensor230 including a semiconductor layer 235 will be described in a laterportion of the present specification.

In some example embodiments, the cross-section view shown in FIG. 2A isa cross-sectional view of at least one sub-pixel SPx of a plurality ofsub-pixels SPx of a pixel PX1, including, for example, the “red”sub-pixel of pixel Px1 as shown in FIG. 1A. Accordingly, the OLED 310 ofeach separate sub-pixel SPX may emit a separate light of red light,green line, or blue light, such that the plurality of sub-pixels SPx ofthe pixel Px1 collectively emit the red light, the green light, and theblue light. In some example embodiments, including the exampleembodiments shown in FIGS. 1A-1C, the driver 200 of at least oneparticular sub-pixel SPx includes the visible light sensor 230 that isconfigured to detect the visible light emitted by at least one OLED 310of the plurality of sub-pixels. For example, a visible light sensor 230of at least one particular sub-pixel SPx may be configured toselectively detect blue light, which may be emitted by the OLED 310 ofthe same particular sub-pixel SPx or a different sub-pixel SPx of thepixel Px1.

For better understanding and ease of description, the driver 200 hasbeen described to include the OLED driving transistor 210, the OLEDswitching transistor 220, and the visible light sensor 230, and thedriver 200 may further include a visible light sensor switch transistor250 and a capacitor C1 (refer to FIG. 8).

The substrate 100 may be formed with various materials such as glass orplastic. In the case of plastic, it may be formed of a transparent andflexible material.

A fingerprint recognizing process using an OLED panel according to someexample embodiments of the present inventive concepts will now bedescribed with reference to FIG. 2B.

FIG. 2B shows a cross-sectional view for describing a fingerprintrecognizing process using an OLED panel according to some exampleembodiments of the present inventive concepts.

Referring to FIG. 2B, when a biometric object, for example, a finger 400is provided on the front surface 1000 a of the OLED panel 1000, adriving signal for turning on the OLED driving transistor 210 and theOLED switching transistor 220 of the driver 200, and the visible light320 is discharged from the OLED light emitter 300 by the OLED drivingtransistor 210 and is irradiated to the fingerprint of the finger 400.The visible light 320 may be reflected or scattered on the surface ofthe finger 400. The reflected or scattered visible light 330 may bereceived by the visible light sensor 230 and may then be detected. Inthis instance, the reflected or scattered visible light 330 is blockedby the black shields 215 and 225 and does not reach the OLED drivingtransistor 210 and the OLED switching transistor 220.

Charges received by the visible light sensor 230 are read, pass throughan image processor to acquire a fingerprint image of the finger 400, anda fingerprint recognition may be performed based upon the acquisition ofimage.

FIG. 2B has exemplified the fingerprint of the finger 500 as the objectof biometrics, and various biometrics such as finger palm print, iris,retina, or face are applicable.

An OLED panel according to some example embodiments of the presentinventive concepts will now be described with reference to FIG. 3 toFIG. 5.

FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, FIG. 3C, FIG. 3D, and FIG. 3E show schematic diagramsof various pixel layouts of an OLED panel according to some exampleembodiments of the present inventive concepts.

Referring to FIGS. 3A to 3E, the pixel Px2 configuring the OLED panelaccording to some example embodiments of the present inventive conceptsincludes three sub-pixels (SPx), near infrared ray sensors 630, and nearinfrared ray OLEDs 710. The sub-pixels (SPx) may respectively be one ofthe red OLED sub-pixel (OLED R), green OLED sub-pixel (OLED G) and blueOLED sub-pixel (OLED B). The near infrared ray sensor 630 and the nearinfrared ray OLED 710 may be provided at the bottom of the light emitterof at least one of the three sub-pixels (SPx) and may be disposed tooverlap at least one of the three sub-pixels (SPx).

Therefore, the sub-pixel (SPx) overlaps the near infrared ray sensor 630and the near infrared ray OLED 710, so biometrics may be allowable byusing the near infrared ray sensor 630 and the near infrared ray OLED710 without influencing the aperture ratio of the OLED light emitter.

In detail, as shown in FIG. 3A, a pair of the near infrared ray sensor630 and the near infrared ray OLED 710 may respectively overlap the redOLED sub-pixel (OLED R), the green OLED sub-pixel (OLED G), and the blueOLED sub-pixel (OLED B).

As shown in FIG. 3B, a pair of the near infrared ray sensor 630 and thenear infrared ray OLED 710 may respectively overlap the red OLEDsub-pixel (OLED R) and the green OLED sub-pixel (OLED G).

As shown in FIG. 3C, a pair of the near infrared ray sensor 630 and thenear infrared ray OLED 710 may overlap the red OLED sub-pixel (OLED R).As shown in FIG. 3D, two near infrared ray sensors 630 may overlap thered OLED sub-pixel (OLED R) and the blue OLED sub-pixel (OLED B), andone near infrared ray OLED 710 may overlap the green OLED sub-pixel(OLED G). In this instance, it is shown in FIG. 3D that two nearinfrared ray sensors 630 and one near infrared ray OLED 710 are disposedin different columns, and the example embodiments are not limitedthereto, and the two near infrared ray sensors 630 and the one nearinfrared ray OLED 710 may be disposed in the same column or disposed inthe different columns.

As shown in FIG. 3E, one near infrared ray sensor 630 may overlap thered OLED sub-pixel (OLED R), and one near infrared ray OLED 710 mayoverlap the blue OLED sub-pixel (OLED B). In this instance, it is shownin FIG. 3E that one near infrared ray sensor 630 overlaps the red OLEDsub-pixel (OLED R) and one near infrared ray OLED 710 overlaps the blueOLED sub-pixel (OLED B), the example embodiments are not limitedthereto, one near infrared ray sensor 630 or one near infrared ray OLED710 may overlap one of the three sub-pixels (SPx), and one near infraredray sensor 630 or one near infrared ray OLED 710 may be differentlycombined if needed.

Hence, the sub-pixel (SPx) overlaps the visible light sensor 230, sobiometrics is allowable by using the visible light sensor 230 withoutinfluencing the aperture ratio of the OLED light emitter.

An OLED panel according to some example embodiments of the presentinventive concepts will now be described with reference to FIG. 4 andFIG. 5.

FIG. 4A shows a cross-sectional view of an OLED panel according to someexample embodiments of the present inventive concepts.

Referring to FIG. 4A, the OLED panel 2000 according to some exampleembodiments of the present inventive concepts represents a stacking-typepanel in which a substrate 500, a driver 600, a near infrared ray lightemitter 700, and an OLED light emitter 800 are stacked, and a driver 600including a near infrared ray sensor 630 and a near infrared ray lightemitter 700 stacked on the driver 600 are disposed between the substrate500 and the OLED light emitter 800. The near infrared ray light emitter700 includes a near infrared ray OLED 710 that may emit near infraredrays (e.g., near infrared light). The near infrared ray sensor 630 maydetect near infrared rays emitted by the near infrared ray OLED 710. Thenear infrared ray light emitter 700 and the near infrared ray sensor 630are provided at the bottom of the OLED light emitter 800 to thus allowbiometrics by using an infrared light sensor 630 without influencing theaperture ratio of the OLED light emitter 800.

As shown in at least FIG. 4A, the near infrared ray sensor 630 mayoverlap the OLED 310 in a direction that is perpendicular orsubstantially perpendicular (e.g., perpendicular within manufacturingtolerances and/or material tolerances) to an upper surface 500 a of thesubstrate 500. Additionally, as shown in at least FIG. 4A, the nearinfrared ray sensor 630 may be offset from the near infrared ray OLED710 in a direction that is parallel or substantially parallel (e.g.,parallel within manufacturing tolerances and/or material tolerances) tothe upper surface 500 a of the substrate 500, such that the nearinfrared ray sensor 630 does not overlap the near infrared ray OLED 710in the direction that is perpendicular or substantially perpendicular tothe upper surface 500 a of the substrate 500.

As shown in at least FIG. 4A, the OLED panel 2000 may include asubstrate 500, an OLED 310 on the substrate 500, a driver 600 on theOLED 310, and a near infrared ray OLED 710 on the substrate, where thedriver 600 may be configured to drive the OLED 310. As shown in FIG. 4A,the driver 200 may be between the substrate 500 and the OLED 310 and mayfurther be between the substrate 500 and the near infrared ray OLED 710,such that the near infrared ray OLED 710 is between the OLED 710 and thedriver 600, but example embodiments are not limited thereto. While FIG.4A illustrates the near infrared ray OLED 710 as being distal from afront surface 2000 a of the OLED panel 2000 in relation to the OLEDlight emitter 800, such that the near infrared ray OLED 710 is betweenthe OLED 310 and the substrate 500, it will be understood that, in someexample embodiments, the near infrared ray OLED 710 may be proximate tofront surface 2000 a in relation to the OLED light emitter 800, suchthat the OLED light emitter 800, and thus the OLED 310, is between thenear infrared ray OLED 710 and the substrate 500.

Regarding the OLED panel 2000, sub-pixels (SPx, refer to FIG. 3) foremitting the visible lights (R, G, and B) with different wavelengths aregathered to configure one pixel (Px2, refer to FIG. 3), and the pixelPx2 is repeated in rows and columns to complete the OLED panel 2000.

The OLED light emitter 800 is stacked on the near infrared ray lightemitter 700 to display an image. As shown in FIG. 4A, the OLED lightemitter 800 includes a visible light OLED (OLED, 310) including anorganic emission layer 812, and a first electrode 811 and a secondelectrode 813 formed at the bottom and the top of the organic emissionlayer 812, respectively, such that the organic emission layer 812 isbetween the first and second electrodes 811, 813. The OLED 310 may emitvisible light having various wavelength spectra. As shown in FIG. 4A,the OLED 310 may be at least partially on each of a lower insulationlayer 860 and an upper insulation layer 840 of the OLED light emitter800, and may further be at least partially between the lower insulationlayer 860 and the upper insulation layer 840. The organic emission layer812 may be formed with various organic materials for emitting visiblelight (820) that includes one of the red R, green G, and blue B colorsin a front direction (an arrow direction 820 of FIG. 4A through frontsurface 2200 a) of the substrate 500, that is, an opposite direction tothe driver 600. Accordingly, the OLED may emit visible light thatincludes red light (“red R”), green light (“green G”), and blue light(“blue B”). One of the first electrode 811 and the second electrode 813is connected to the driving voltage line (Vdd, refer to FIG. 9) and theoutput terminal (Out Put) to function as an anode, and the otherfunctions as a cathode.

The OLED panel 1000 according to some example embodiments of the presentinventive concepts recognizes the fingerprint with the visible light ofthe OLED light emitter 300, and the OLED light emitter 800 of the OLEDpanel according to a first aspect of some example embodiments of thepresent inventive concepts emits visible light when displaying images,and it is not used in the recognition of fingerprints.

The first electrode 811 may be formed to be (e.g., may include) areflecting electrode so that the light emitted by the organic emissionlayer 812 may be well displayed to the outside.

The second electrode 813 may be formed to be (e.g., may include) asemi-transparent or a transparent electrode, for example, MgAg, ITO, orIZO, or Ag or AlTO that is a thin film that is equal to or less than 10nm thick so that the light emitted by the organic emission layer 812 maybe well displayed.

A cover glass (not shown) attached by an adhesive (not shown) isprovided on the top of the OLED light emitter 800 to protect a lowerstructure and form a display surface and a biometric surface.

The near infrared ray light emitter 700 is stacked between the OLEDlight emitter 800 and the driver 600 and includes a near infrared raylight emitting diode (OLED, 710) and an interlayer insulating layer 740.The near infrared ray (NIR) light emitting diode 710 includes a nearinfrared ray emission layer 712 for emitting light with the wavelengthof the near infrared ray, and a first electrode 713 and a secondelectrode 711 formed at the top and the bottom of the near infrared rayemission layer 712.

The near infrared ray emission layer 712 is an organic emission layer,it may be formed with one of materials exemplified in Chemical Formula 1that is appropriate for emitting near infrared rays with the wavelengthof 800 to 1500 nm, or a mixture thereof, which is an example, and anymaterials that are appropriate for emitting light with the wavelength ofthe near infrared ray are usable.

One of the first electrode 713 and the second electrode 711 is connectedto the driving voltage line (Vdd, refer to FIG. 9) and the outputterminal (Out Put) to function as an anode, and the other functions as acathode. One of the first electrode 713 and the second electrode 711receives a driving voltage from the near infrared ray driving transistor620 of the driver 600 to emit near infrared rays.

The driver 600 is formed on the substrate 500, and it includes an OLEDdriving transistor 610, a near infrared ray driving transistor 620, anear infrared ray sensor 630, black shields 615 and 625, and aninterlayer insulating layer 640. The OLED driving transistor 610 maydrive the OLED 310. The near infrared ray driving transistor 620 maydrive the near infrared ray OLED 710. As shown in FIG. 4A, the OLEDdriving transistor 610, the near infrared ray driving transistor 620,and the near infrared ray sensor 630 may be formed on the same plane.When they are formed on the same plane, the process for forming an OLEDdriving transistor 610, a near infrared ray driving transistor 620, anda near infrared ray sensor 630 forming process may be simultaneouslyperformed, so there is no need to manufacture an additional processmask, compared to the case in which they are formed on a differentplane, and the number of processing stages may be reduced. Further, thethickness of the panel may be reduced compared to the case in which theyare formed on a different plane, which may be desirable to realize aflexible panel.

The OLED driving transistor 610 includes a gate electrode 611, a gateinsulating layer 612, an electrode layer 613, and an electrodeinsulating layer 614. The electrode layer 613 may form a first end or asecond end of the OLED driving transistor 610 and may be connected tothe second electrode 813 through the contact hole 616.

The near infrared ray driving transistor 620 includes a gate electrode621, a gate insulating layer 622, an electrode layer 623, and anelectrode insulating layer 624. The electrode layer 623 may form a firstend or a second end of the near infrared ray driving transistor 620 andmay be connected to the second electrode 711 through the contact hole626.

The near infrared ray sensor 630 includes a gate electrode 631, a gateinsulating layer 632, an electrode layer 633, and an electrodeinsulating layer 634, and it may absorb and detect the near infraredrays 730 emitted by the near infrared ray emission layer 712 andreflected or scattered.

The near infrared ray sensor 630 may be an NIR organic photodiode, andan organic emission layer (not shown) included in the near infrared raysensor 630 may be formed with a material that is appropriate forabsorbing the NIR wavelength. That is, it may be formed with a materialthat is appropriate for absorbing the light with the wavelength of800-1500 nm. For example, it may be formed with one of the materialsexemplified in Chemical Formula 2 or a mixture thereof, which is anexample, and any materials that are appropriate for absorption of thelight of desired NIR wavelengths are usable.

An electrode of the near infrared ray sensor 630 is formed of atransparent electrode so as to absorb the incident near infrared rays tothe maximum. Preferably, it is formed of a transparent electrode withtransmittance that is equal to or greater than 80%. For example, it maybe formed of ITO, IZO, AlTO, carbon nanotube (CNT), graphene (Graphen),or nanosilver (Nano Ag).

A black shield 615 is formed at the top of the OLED driving transistor610, and a black shield 625 is formed at the top of the near infraredray driving transistor 620 to thus shield the near infrared rays 730emitted by the near infrared ray emission layer 712 and reflected orscattered. The black shield 615 may block the visible light emitted bythe OLED 310 from reaching the OLED driving transistor 610. As shown inFIG. 4A, the black shield 615 may be between the OLED driving transistor610 and the OLED 310. The black shield 625 may block the visible lightemitted by the OLED 310 from reaching the near infrared ray drivingtransistor 620. As shown in FIG. 4A, the black shield 625 may be betweenthe near infrared ray driving transistor 620 and the OLED 310. In someexample embodiments, the black shield 615 and the black shield 625 maybe a single black shield that forms at least a part of a unitary pieceof material that extends between the OLED 310 and the transistors 610,620, such that the single black shield is between the near infrared raydriving transistor 620 and the OLED 310 and is further between the OLEDdriving transistor 610 and the OLED 310. Accordingly, a black shield inthe OLED panel 2000 may be between the near infrared ray drivingtransistor 620 and the OLED 310, between the OLED driving transistor 610and the OLED 310, or a combination thereof.

For better understanding and ease of description, the driver 600 hasbeen described to include an OLED driving transistor 610, a nearinfrared ray driving transistor 620, a near infrared ray sensor 630,black shields 615 and 625, and an interlayer insulating layer 640, andthe driver 600 may further include an OLED switching transistor 652, anear infrared ray switching transistor 651, a near infrared ray sensorswitching transistor 650, a capacitor C1, and a capacitor C2 (refer toFIG. 9).

The substrate 500 may be formed of various materials such as glass orplastic. In the case of plastic, it may be formed of a transparent andflexible material.

A fingerprint recognizing process using an OLED panel according to afirst aspect of some example embodiments of the present inventiveconcepts will now be described with reference to FIG. 4B. FIG. 4B showsa cross-sectional view of a fingerprint recognizing process using anOLED panel according to a first aspect of some example embodiments ofthe present inventive concepts.

When a biometric object, for example, a finger 900 is provided on thefront surface 2000 a of the OLED panel 2000, a driving signal forturning on the near infrared ray driving transistor 620 and the nearinfrared ray sensor 630 of the driver 600 is applied.

The near infrared rays 720 are discharged from the organic emissionlayer 712 of the near infrared ray OLED 710 of the near infrared raylight emitter 700 by the near infrared ray driving transistor 620, andare irradiated to a fingerprint of the finger 900. The near infraredrays 720 may be reflected or scattered on the surface of the finger 900.The reflected or scattered near infrared rays 730 may be received in thenear infrared ray sensor 630 and may then be detected. In this instance,the reflected or scattered near infrared rays 730 are blocked by theblack shields 615 and 625 and do not reach the near infrared ray drivingtransistor 620 and the near infrared ray sensor 630.

The charges received in the near infrared ray sensor 630 are output topass through an image processor, acquire a fingerprint image of thefinger 900, and perform a fingerprint recognition process.

In some example embodiments, the cross-section view shown in FIG. 4A isa cross-sectional view of at least one sub-pixel SPx of a plurality ofsub-pixels SPx of a pixel Px2, including, for example, the “red”sub-pixel of pixel Px2 as shown in FIG. 3C. Accordingly, the OLED 310 ofeach separate sub-pixel SPx may emit a separate light of red light,green line, or blue light, such that the plurality of sub-pixels SPx ofthe pixel Px2 collectively emit the red light, the green light, and theblue light.

In some example embodiments, including the example embodiments shown inFIGS. 3A-3E, at least one sub-pixel SPx of the plurality of sub-pixelsSPx includes a near infrared ray OLED 710 and at least one sub-pixel SPxof the plurality of sub-pixels SPx includes a driver 600 that includes anear infrared ray sensor 630 configured to detect the near infrared raysemitted by the near infrared ray OLED 710. As shown in at least FIG. 3C,at least one sub-pixel SPx may include both a near infrared ray OLED 710and a near infrared ray sensor 630, such that the near infrared ray OLED710 and the near infrared ray sensor 630 are included in a common atleast one sub-pixel SPx of the pixel Px2. As shown in at least FIGS.3D-3E, the near infrared ray OLED and the near infrared ray sensor maybe included in different sub-pixels SPx, such that the at least onesub-pixels SPx that includes the near infrared ray OLED 710 is differentfrom the at least one sub-pixel SPx that includes the near infrared raysensor 630.

For example, a visible light sensor 230 of at least one particularsub-pixel SPx may be configured to selectively detect blue light, whichmay be emitted by the OLED 310 of the same particular sub-pixel SPx or adifferent sub-pixel SPx of the pixel Px1.

FIG. 4B exemplifies the fingerprint of the finger 900 as a biometricobject, and the finger palm print, iris, retina, and face are applicableto the biometrics.

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of an OLED panel according to asecond aspect of some example embodiments of the present inventiveconcepts.

Referring to FIG. 5, the OLED panel 2200 according to some exampleembodiments of the present inventive concepts represents a stacking-typepanel in which a substrate 500, a light emitting and driver 990, and anOLED light emitter 800 are stacked, and a light emitting and driver 990including an OLED driving transistor 910, a near infrared ray lightemitter 920, a near infrared ray driving transistor 930, and a nearinfrared ray sensor 940 is disposed between the substrate 500 and theOLED light emitter 800. The near infrared ray light emitter 920 includesa near infrared ray OLED that may emit near infrared rays (e.g., nearinfrared light). The near infrared ray sensor 940 may detect nearinfrared rays emitted by the near infrared ray OLED. The near infraredray light emitter 920 and the near infrared ray sensor 940 are providedat the bottom of the OLED light emitter 800 to allow biometrics by usingthe visible light sensor 230 without influencing the aperture ratio ofthe OLED light emitter 800.

The OLED panel 2200 according to some example embodiments are differentfrom the OLED panel 2000 as shown in FIGS. 4A-4B in the light emissionand the configuration of the driver 990, and the configurations of thesubstrate 500 and the OLED light emitter 800 are the same. Therefore,the descriptions on the substrate 500 and the OLED light emitter 800will refer to the description on the OLED panel 2000 of FIGS. 4A-4B.

Regarding the OLED panel 2200, the sub-pixels (SPx, refer to FIG. 3) foremitting visible lights (R, G, B) with different wavelengths aregathered to form a pixel (Px2, refer to FIG. 3), and the pixel Px2 isrepeated in rows and columns to complete an OLED panel 2000.

The light emitting and driver 990 includes an OLED driving transistor910, a near infrared ray light emitter 920, a near infrared ray drivingtransistor 930, a near infrared ray sensor 940, black shields 915 and935, and an interlayer insulating layer 980. As shown in FIG. 5, thenear infrared ray sensor 940, the OLED driving transistor 910, the nearinfrared ray driving transistor 930, and the near infrared ray OLED thatis the near infrared ray light emitter 920 may be on a same plane.

The OLED driving transistor 910, the near infrared ray light emitter920, the near infrared ray driving transistor 930, and the near infraredray sensor 940 may be formed on the same plane. When they are formed onthe same plane, the process for forming an OLED driving transistor 910,a near infrared ray light emitter 920, a near infrared ray drivingtransistor 930, and a near infrared ray sensor 940 may be simultaneouslyperformed, so there is no need to manufacture an additional processmask, compared to the case in which they are formed on a differentplane, and the number of processing stages may be reduced. Further, thethickness of the panel may be reduced compared to the case in which theyare formed on a different plane, which may be desirable to realize aflexible panel.

The OLED driving transistor 910 includes a gate electrode 911, a gateinsulating layer 912, an electrode layer 913, and an electrodeinsulating layer 914. The electrode layer 913 forms a first end or asecond end of the OLED driving transistor 910 and it may be connected tothe second electrode 813 of the OLED light emitter 800 through thecontact hole 916.

The near infrared ray light emitter 920 may be a near infrared ray (NIR)light emitting diode, and it includes a near infrared ray emission layer922 for emitting light with a near infrared ray wavelength, and a firstelectrode 923 and a second electrode 921 formed at the top and thebottom of the near infrared ray emission layer 922.

The configurations and materials of the near infrared ray emission layer922, the first electrode 923, and the second electrode 921 are the sameas the near infrared ray emission layer 712, so no detailed descriptionthereof will be provided.

The near infrared ray driving transistor 930 includes a gate electrode931, a gate insulating layer 932, an electrode layer 9333, and anelectrode insulating layer 934. The electrode layer 933 forms a firstend or a second end of the near infrared ray driving transistor 930, andit may be connected to the second electrode 921 of the near infrared raylight emitter 920.

The near infrared ray sensor 940 includes a gate electrode 941, a gateinsulating layer 942, an electrode layer 943, and an electrodeinsulating layer 944, and it may absorb and detect the near infraredrays 960 emitted by the near infrared ray emission layer 922 andreflected or scattered.

A detailed material and characteristic of the near infrared ray sensor940 are the same as the near infrared ray sensor 630 according to thesecond aspect, so no detailed description thereof will be provided.

A black shield 915 is formed at the top of the OLED driving transistor910, and a black shield 935 is formed at the top of the near infraredray driving transistor 930 to thus shield the near infrared rays 960emitted by the near infrared ray emission layer 922 and reflected orscattered.

The fingerprint recognition process using an OLED panel according to asecond aspect of some example embodiments of the present inventiveconcepts corresponds to the fingerprint recognition process using anOLED panel according to a first aspect of some example embodiments ofthe present inventive concepts, so no detailed description thereof willbe provided.

A structure and a characteristic of a visible light sensor according tosome example embodiments of the present inventive concepts will now bedescribed with reference to FIG. 6.

FIG. 6A shows a cross-sectional view of a visible light sensor 230according to some example embodiments of the present inventive concepts,and FIG. 6B shows a curved line showing a characteristic of a visiblelight sensor 230 according to some example embodiments of the presentinventive concepts. FIG. 6C shows a curved line showing a characteristicof an OLED driving transistor according to some example embodiments ofthe present inventive concepts, and FIG. 6D shows a curved line showinga characteristic of an OLED driving transistor according to some exampleembodiments of the present inventive concepts.

The visible light sensor 230 includes a gate electrode 231 formed on asubstrate 100, a gate insulating layer 232 formed on the gate electrode,a semiconductor layer 235 formed on the gate insulating layer, anelectrode layer 233 formed on the semiconductor layer 235, and anelectrode insulating layer 234 formed on the electrode layer.

The electrode layer 233 may be made of an aluminum-based metal such asaluminum (Al) or an aluminum alloy, a silver-based metal such as silver(Ag) or a silver alloy, a copper-based metal such as copper (Cu) or acopper alloy such as copper manganese (CuMn), a molybdenum-based metalsuch as molybdenum (Mo) or a molybdenum alloy, chromium (Cr), tantalum(Ta), and titanium (Ti).

The semiconductor layer 235 may be an oxide including at least one ofzinc (Zn), indium (In), Ga (gallium), tin (Sn), and hafnium (Hf). Forexample, the semiconductor layer 235 may be formed of a bottom XIZOlayer 2351, a ZIO layer 2352, and a top XIZO layer 2353. The thicknessesof the bottom XIZO layer 2351, the ZIO layer 2352, and the top XIZOlayer 2353 may be one of (270 10, and 90) Å, (250, 10, and 90) Å, and(200, 20, and 80) Å, and the example embodiments are not limitedthereto.

Referring to FIG. 6B, when the semiconductor layer 235 has no reflectedor scattered visible light (330, refer to FIG. 2), it becomes thatVth0=−1.65V, and when the same absorbs the reflected or scatteredvisible light 330, it is given that Vth1=−0.05V, so it becomes thatΔVth=1.6V.

Therefore, regarding the driving voltage (−5V) in connection with thesemiconductor layer 235, a current ratio flowing when there is visiblelight 330 compared to the case when there is no visible light 330 isI_(ph,on)/I_(ph,off)>10⁶, so the currents are different by 10⁶ timesdepending on whether there is absorbed visible light.

Referring to FIG. 6C, when a blue LED is used as a backlight, thecurrent (Ids) generated when the semiconductor layer 635 absorbs blue(B) light is equal to or greater than 10⁵ times than the case (i.e.,dark) when there is no visible light 330. Therefore, the fingerprint maybe recognized with the blue color (B) from among the red R, green G, andblue B colors included in the visible light 330, thereby increasingselectivity of light.

Referring to FIG. 6D, when the stress is tested for three hours in thecondition of Vg: 5V and Vds: 10 Vdml with luminance of 40,000 nit, theVth shift is 0.1V which is very weak than the case (i.e., dark) whenthere is no visible light 330. Therefore, the Vth shift is very few atthe LCD backlight level (10,00 nit)

A characteristic of photoelectric stability of the semiconductor layer235 is acquired.

A structure and a characteristic of an OLED driving transistor accordingto some example embodiments of the present inventive concepts will nowbe described with reference to FIG. 7.

FIG. 7A shows a cross-sectional view of an OLED driving transistoraccording to some example embodiments of the present inventive concepts,and FIG. 7B shows a curved line showing a characteristic of an OLEDdriving transistor according to some example embodiments of the presentinventive concepts.

Referring to FIG. 7A, the OLED driving transistor 210 includes a gateelectrode 211 formed on a substrate 100, a gate insulating layer 212formed on the gate electrode, a semiconductor layer 216 formed on thegate insulating layer, an electrode layer 213 formed on thesemiconductor layer, an electrode insulating layer 214 formed on theelectrode layer, and a black shield 215 formed on the electrodeinsulating layer.

The semiconductor layer 216 may be an oxide including at least one ofzinc (Zn), indium (In), Ga (gallium), tin (Sn), and hafnium (Hf). Forexample, the semiconductor layer 216 may be formed of a bottom XIZOlayer 2161, a ZIO layer 2162, and a top XIZO layer 2163. The thicknessesof the bottom XIZO layer 2161, the ZIO layer 2162, and the top XIZOlayer 2163 may be one of (270 10, and 90) Å, (250, 10, and 90) Å, and(200, 20, and 80) Å, and the example embodiments are not limitedthereto.

The electrode layer 213 may be made of an aluminum-based metal such asaluminum (Al) or an aluminum alloy, a silver-based metal such as silver(Ag) or a silver alloy, a copper-based metal such as copper (Cu) or acopper alloy such as copper manganese (CuMn), a molybdenum-based metalsuch as molybdenum (Mo) or a molybdenum alloy, chromium (Cr), tantalum(Ta), and titanium (Ti).

The black shield 215 may be made of a molybdenum-based metal such asmolybdenum (Mo) or a molybdenum alloy.

Referring to FIG. 7B, driving characteristics between the case (i.e.,dark) when there is no visible light 330 and the case (i.e., light) whenthere is a visible light 330 have no difference because of the blackshield 215.

Structures of a driver and an OLED light emitter according to someexample embodiments of the present inventive concepts will now bedescribed with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 shows a driving circuit of adriver 200 and an OLED light emitter 300 according to some exampleembodiments of the present inventive concepts.

The driver 200 includes an OLED driving transistor 210, an OLEDswitching transistor 220, a visible light sensor 230, a visible lightsensor switch transistor 250, and a capacitor C₁.

The OLED light emitter 300 includes an OLED 310.

The OLED driving transistor 210 includes a gate connected to a secondend of the OLED switching transistor 220, a first end connected to adriving power unit (Vdd), and a second end connected to an anode of theOLED 310.

The OLED switching transistor 220 includes a gate connected to a gateline (n+1), a first end connected to a data line (Data), and a secondend connected to the gate of the OLED driving transistor 210.

The capacitor C₁ is connected to the gate of the OLED driving transistor210 and the anode of the OLED 310.

The visible light sensor 230 includes a gate connected to the gate line(n+1), a first end, and a second end connected to the first end of thevisible light sensor switch transistor 250.

The visible light sensor switch transistor 250 includes a gate connectedto a sensor line (s), a first end connected to the second end of thevisible light sensor 230, and a second end connected to an output line(OutPut).

When a finger 400 is placed on the OLED panel 1000 at a first time, theOLED switching transistor 220 is turned on by an enable-level gatesignal applied through a gate line (n+1), and the OLED drivingtransistor 610 is turned on by the data signal applied through the dataline (Data) to store a data voltage corresponding to the data signal inthe capacitor C₁, and a visible light 320 is discharged from the OLED310 corresponding to the data voltage stored in the capacitor C₁ and isirradiated to the fingerprint of the finger 400.

A driver and an OLED light emitter according to some example embodimentsof the present inventive concepts will now be described.

At a first time (or a previous time thereof), the visible light sensorswitch transistor 250 is turned on by an enable-level signal appliedthrough a sensor line (s), the visible light sensor 230 is turned on byan enable-level signal applied through a gate line (n), so as describedwith reference to FIG. 2B, the reflected or scattered visible light 330is received in the visible light sensor 230 and a fingerprint isdetected.

A configuration of a driver, a near infrared ray light emitter, and anOLED light emitter according to a first aspect of some exampleembodiments of the present inventive concepts will now be described withreference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 shows a driving circuit of a driver 600, anear infrared ray light emitter 700, and an OLED light emitter 800according to some example embodiments of the present inventive concepts.

The driver 600 includes an OLED driving transistor 610, a near infraredray driving transistor 620, a near infrared ray sensor 630, an OLEDswitching transistor 652, a near infrared ray switching transistor 651,a near infrared ray sensor switching transistor 650, a capacitor C₁, anda capacitor C₂.

The near infrared ray light emitter 700 includes a near infrared rayOLED 710, and the OLED light emitter 800 includes a visible light OLED310.

The OLED switching transistor 652 includes a gate connected to a gateline n+2, a first end, and a second end connected to the gate of theOLED driving transistor 610.

The OLED driving transistor 610 includes a gate connected to the secondend of the OLED switching transistor 652, a first end connected to thedriving power unit (Vdd), and a second end connected to the anode of thevisible light OLED 310.

The capacitor C₁ is connected between the gate of the OLED drivingtransistor 610 and the anode of the visible light OLED 310.

The visible light OLED 310 includes an anode connected to the second endof the OLED driving transistor 610 and a cathode connected to a drivingpower unit (Vss).

The near infrared ray switching transistor 651 includes a gate connectedto a gate line n+1, a first end, and a second end connected to the gateof the near infrared ray driving transistor 620.

The near infrared ray driving transistor 620 includes a gate connectedto the second end of the near infrared ray switching transistor 651, afirst end connected to the driving power unit (Vdd), and a second endconnected to the anode of the near infrared ray OLED 710.

The capacitor C2 is connected between the gate of the near infrared raydriving transistor 620 and the anode of the near infrared ray OLED 310.

The near infrared ray OLED 710 is connected between the second end ofthe near infrared ray driving transistor 620 and the driving power unit(Vss).

The near infrared ray sensor switching transistor 650 includes a gateconnected to a gate line (n), a first end, and a second end connected tothe second end of the near infrared ray sensor 630.

The near infrared ray sensor 630 includes a gate connected to a sensorline (s), a first end connected to the second end of the near infraredray sensor switching transistor 650, and a second end connected to theoutput line (OutPut).

A driving operation of a driver and a near infrared ray light emitteraccording to a first aspect of some example embodiments of the presentinventive concepts will now be described.

When a finger (900, refer to FIG. 4B) is placed on the OLED panel 2000at a first time, the near infrared ray switching transistor 651 isturned on by an enable-level gate signal applied through the gate linen+1, the near infrared ray driving transistor 620 is turned on by a datasignal applied through a data line (Data), and a data voltagecorresponding to the data signal is stored in the capacitor C2. The nearinfrared rays 720 is discharged from the near infrared ray OLED 710corresponding to the data voltage stored in the capacitor C2 and isirradiated to the fingerprint of the finger 900.

At the first time (or a previous time thereof), the near infrared raysensor switch transistor 650 is turned on by an enable-level signalapplied through a sensor line (s), the near infrared ray sensor 630 isturned on by an enable-level signal applied through a gate line (n), andas described with reference to FIG. 4B, the reflected or scattered nearinfrared rays 730 is received in the near infrared ray sensor 630 andthe fingerprint is detected.

After the first time, the OLED switching transistor 652 is turned on byan enable-level gate signal applied through a gate line n+2, the OLEDdriving transistor 610 is turned on by a data signal applied through adata line (Data), and a data voltage corresponding to the data signal isstored in the capacitor C₁. The visible light OLED 310 is dischargedcorresponding to the data voltage stored in the capacitor C₁ to thisdisplay an image.

The driving operation of the driver and the near infrared ray lightemitter according to some example embodiments of the present inventiveconcepts corresponds to the driving operation of the driver and the nearinfrared ray light emitter according to some example embodiments of thepresent inventive concepts, so no detailed description thereof will beprovided.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device 1002 according tosome example embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 10, an electronic device 1002 may include a processor1020, a memory 1030, and display device 1040 that are electricallycoupled together via a bus 1010. The display device 1140 may be displaydevice of any of the example embodiments as described herein, and thusmay include any of the example embodiments of OLED panels as describedherein. The memory 1030, which may be a non-transitory computer readablemedium, may store a program of instructions. The processor 1020 mayexecute the stored program of instructions to perform one or morefunctions, including implementing the biometric recognition of anindividual based on processing electrical signals received from thevisible light sensor and/or near infrared ray sensor as described herein(e.g., to detect a fingerprint, an iris, or face image). The processor1120 may be configured to generate an output (e.g., an image to bedisplayed on the display device, a command to operate a locking device,some combination thereof, or the like) based on implementing thebiometric recognition.

While this inventive concepts have been described in connection withwhat is presently considered to be practical example embodiments, it isto be understood that the inventive concepts are not limited to thedescribed example embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended tocover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included withinthe spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An organic light emitting diode (OLED) panel,comprising: a substrate; and a pixel on the substrate, the pixelincluding a first OLED configured to emit a first light, a first sensorincluding an organic photodiode and configured to absorb and detect thefirst light reflected or scattered by a biometric object, a second OLEDconfigured to emit a second light, a first OLED driving transistorconfigured to drive the first OLED, and a second OLED driving transistorconfigured to drive the second OLED, wherein the first OLED and thefirst sensor are on a same plane, and wherein at least one of the firstOLED driving transistor and second OLED driving transistor is betweenthe OLED driven by the driving transistor and the substrate.
 2. The OLEDpanel of claim 1, wherein the first light and the second light havedifferent wavelengths.
 3. The OLED panel of claim 1, the pixel furthercomprising a first black shield on the first OLED driving transistor, asecond black shield on the second OLED driving transistor, or acombination thereof.
 4. The OLED panel of claim 1, wherein a blackshield is substantially not on the first sensor.
 5. The OLED panel ofclaim 1, the pixel further comprising a second sensor configured toabsorb and detect the second light reflected or scattered by a biometricobject.
 6. The OLED panel of claim 1, the pixel further comprising atleast one OLED switching transistor on the substrate.
 7. The OLED panelof claim 1, wherein the organic photodiode comprises a material that isappropriate for absorbing the first wavelength.
 8. The OLED panel ofclaim 1, wherein the pixel comprises a plurality of sub-pixels, thesub-pixels each configured to emit lights with different wavelengths,and the first OLED and the first sensor are on a same plane in asub-pixel.
 9. The OLED panel of claim 1, wherein the pixel comprises aplurality of sub-pixels, the sub-pixels each configured to emit lightswith different wavelengths, and the first OLED and the first sensor areon a same plane in each other sub-pixel.
 10. The OLED panel of claim 1,wherein each of the first OLED and the second OLED includes a firstelectrode and a second electrode, and the first electrode includes areflecting electrode, and the second electrode includes a transparentelectrode or a semi-transparent electrode.
 11. An electronic devicecomprising an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) panel, the OLED panelcomprising: a substrate; and a pixel on the substrate, the pixelincluding a first OLED configured to emit a first light, a first sensorincluding an organic photodiode and configured to absorb and detect thefirst light reflected or scattered by a biometric object, a second OLEDconfigured to emit a second light, a first OLED driving transistorconfigured to drive the first OLED, and a second OLED driving transistorconfigured to drive the second OLED, wherein the first OLED and thefirst sensor are on a same plane, and wherein at least one of the firstOLED driving transistor and second OLED driving transistor is betweenthe OLED driven by the driving transistor and the substrate.
 12. Theelectronic device of claim 11, wherein the first light and the secondlight have different wavelengths.
 13. The electronic device of claim 11,the pixel further comprising a first black shield on the first OLEDdriving transistor, a second black shield on the second OLED drivingtransistor, or a combination thereof.
 14. The electronic device of claim11, wherein a black shield is substantially not on the first sensor. 15.The electronic device of claim 11, the pixel further comprising a secondsensor configured to absorb and detect the second light reflected orscattered by a biometric object.
 16. The electronic device of claim 11,the pixel further comprising at least one OLED switching transistor onthe substrate.
 17. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein theorganic photodiode comprises a material that is appropriate forabsorbing the first wavelength.
 18. The electronic device of claim 11,wherein the pixel comprises a plurality of sub-pixels, the sub-pixelseach configured to emit lights with different wavelengths, and the firstOLED and the first sensor are on a same plane in a sub-pixel.
 19. Theelectronic device of claim 11, wherein the pixel comprises a pluralityof sub-pixels, the sub-pixels each configured to emit lights withdifferent wavelengths, and the first OLED and the first sensor are on asame plane in each other sub-pixel.
 20. The electronic device of claim11, wherein each of the first OLED and the second OLED includes a firstelectrode and a second electrode, and the first electrode includes areflecting electrode, and the second electrode includes a transparentelectrode or a semi-transparent electrode.